No matter how often I feel like I am tidying, decluttering, putting things in their place around my home, it’s like it just never ends. Things pile back up if I slack off for a few days. I start to feel overwhelmed all over again. It’s a never ending battle. The bills and papers that come into the house, the art projects that get done, the toys that find their way under my feet all day long, everything that seems to stray from it’s rightful place to the other side of the house. It’s hard to manage it all. Well, it may be easier to manage it all if it’s ALL I did but I don’t want it to be all I do. I want to enjoy my days with my kids and not stop every 10 minutes to put everything back where it goes.
When I look at a room that is overwhelming me, there are a few ways I can go taking care of the stuff.
Throw it Away – If I don’t even let the stuff end up on a surface to begin with, I’m winning the battle. It is amazing to me how many things that have zero value end up on shelves, countertops, and tables in the bat of an eye. I can go through my house at any given moment and find 20 things that can be thrown away. Not things of value, but rather things that are just completely junk that have made their way around and settled on top of a kid’s dresser or a kitchen counter or the entry shelf. It’s amazing. And I don’t feel like I have an overwhelmingly cluttered home – the stuff just appears by way of the clutter fairy, I think!
Store it – I see in magazines all the time all these storage solutions like pretty bins and baskets and such and all I think is gee, my clutter isn’t really worth dropping hundreds of dollars on bins at Target to store it. And never mind that often just finding a pretty bin to put it all in is masking the problem. I have bought bins, I do store things in bins and I love me some baskets to keep things in – especially in the living room – they’re very handy for tossing small toys in and putting on a shelf so there are toys in there to play with for the kids when they aren’t in the playroom. I have to ask myself before buying a container or storing something if it’s worth it though. Is what I am going to put into the $20 bin worth spending that $20? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. A bin on my computer armoire to hold camera accessories and cords and batteries and SD cards is reasonable since those things are worth the value of what they’re stored in. If you’re using a $20 bin to store stuff that you don’t use, need or want just because it’s easier than parting with it, though, it may be time to question that.
Empty the junk drawer – Sometimes I can’t even get our junk drawer open, it has so much stuff in it. I know, embarrassing. At any given time, there are dead batteries, a hammer, maybe the toenail clippers, some princessy hair bows, whatever. It’s just unbelievable. That drawer is just another way to mask the problem. Someone can’t see it when they walk in – FABULOUS! Or not. Just get rid of it already and use your drawers as much more functional space.
Shred it – when you finally decide to go through all that paperwork, get out that handy dandy shredder, and let out some angst. I know I love the whirring of that shredder and seeing stuff destroyed. I am a little bit crazy, if you didn’t already know. And once it’s all shredded and you have that big box or bag of paper, you can turn it into garden mulch. What a seriously cool idea.
If you’re anything like me, you may find that the more space you create in your home that is clutter-free the more space you are creating for positive things to enter your life, like more time to relax and enjoy your family and actually enjoy your home. You won’t realize it until it’s done and the clutter is gone but it is freeing, relaxing, invigorating to not only feel accomplished at getting the task done, but also at being able to breathe in the space that you spend so much of your time.
Other clutter busting posts from around the web that you may enjoy are
Queen Declutterer
Decluttering With Children
10 Ways to Reduce Clutter and Clean Up Your Act
I’ve been decluttering a lot lately. I just did the hall closet last night, and it feels SO good!
I love your thoughts on storage bins. I’m a sucker for pretty containers, and you’re absolutely right that it’s not worth it to spend $20 on a container to store unused junk. I never thought of it that way before.
Thanks for the link!
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I hate clutter. Fortunately, my wife is a decluttering maniac! One thing we do almost annually is have a garage sale. This is a great way to make a few hundred dollars and to get rid of a much of stuff that is no longer wanted. It is amazing how seldom I need those things that I thought I couldn’t do without!
Great job!
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I love the new blog look!
Since getting the new computer on Sunday, I’ve been majorly decluttering everything else. It’s so pristine and free and virginal, as compared to our cluttered (ish) apartment and my really cluttered computer. Probably was a good stimulus, since I think the computer’s running faster since I removed over a dozen useless programs and hundreds of files.
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Great post! I hate storage bins too. I don’t get it. What’s the point of keeping something if you just have it in a bin in the attic. Why not just throw it away?
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Ohhhh! Love your blog makeover!!
I would like to add to your tips “Teach husbands and children” to control clutter too!! Not that it happens at my house as much I as I would like it to or anything!!!
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[...] Strives for Excellence 5 Signs of a Stress Ridden MindControl Your Clutter [...]
Reading this i finally took a break from this work. I run a hardware store, and i get kinda stress throughout the day =) your site just gave me a few minutes of relax =] I managed to find a rss feed on your site, so that i could subscribe for some more. Ill be sure to come here more often from now on =]
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